Jets special teamer Justin Hardee's Pro Bowl selection is very special to him
Justin Hardee high fives fans after the game against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 23. Credit: Getty Images
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Justin Hardee was speechless when he learned that he made his first Pro Bowl and thought about his late mother. The Jets special teams ace said he was “crying inside.”
Hardee visited his mother’s grave during the Christmas break and shared the news with her. He found out he made the Pro Bowl on the nine-year anniversary that he buried her. The Pro Bowl falls this year on her birthday.
“It meant the world to me honestly,” Hardee said. “It’s not just about me. It’s about the people I do it for. For me to be able to do that, especially for the people I do it for, especially for the ones that are not here, it was just like crying inside because I know they’re proud of me. It was a blessing.”
The undrafted Hardee was signed by Houston in 2017. He played four seasons with the Saints before the Jets signed him last year. The gunner found out he made the Pro Bowl at a team meeting last Tuesday. He called it “a memory I’ll never forget.
“I was really just lost for words,” Hardee said. “It was like, ‘Wow, one of my dreams actually came true.' I didn’t get that feeling of being drafted. I didn’t get that call like, ‘Hey man we’re coming to get you.’ I haven’t gotten a championship. So it was like a personal championship.”
Woody’s world
Four-game losing streaks, any time of year, take a toll on owners, executives and coaches. Robert Saleh was asked how principal owner Woody Johnson has handled this recent rough patch.
“He’s been good,” Saleh said. “He wants to win like all of us do. We’re all trying to search for answers.”
Run stopped
The Jets have averaged 64 yards rushing the last three games. Saleh said teams are “stacking the box and daring us to throw it and beat them.” Having Mike White at quarterback instead of Zach Wilson might change that.
“You got to earn the right to back them off,” Saleh said. “Does Mike help that? We’ll find out.”
Two-minute drill
LaMarcus Joyner (hip) could return Sunday after missing the last two games … Saleh said Denzel Mims is in the final stage of concussion protocol … Offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi (groin) returned to practice from IR and could be activated Sunday … Jeff Smith (knee) and Brandin Echols (quad) remain out of practice.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
